Alta Vista Business Park nears full occupancy as Mon Valley Alliance continues to support area’s growth

By Rick Shrum

Alta Vista Business Park sits on 256 rolling acres in Fallowfield Township, high above Interstate 70. It is substantially larger than most golf courses and affords fabulous views of the bustling highway and countryside.

The park is taking care of business as well. “Alta Vista is as busy as ever, and access to I-70 is second to none,” said Jamie Colecchi, CEO of the Mon Valley Alliance, which oversees operations there. And there are plenty of operations on this tract, which became fully pad ready with road access 10 years ago. A mere decade later, Alta Vista is near capacity – only two lots are available for sale.

The latest transaction occurred in mid-August, when Tustin Group, an HVAC company, cut the ceremonial ribbon on its new location, a 35,000-square-foot building at 204 Simko Blvd. Tustin’s move followed its acquisition of DeLattre Corp., a longtime Mon Valley HVAC firm, about three years earlier.

Tustin was a $4.5 million project featuring two $1 million grants – one from the state, one from the Washington County Local Share Account – and $2.5 million from the MVA.

Colecchi pointed out that Alta Vista’s development has been enhanced by being a Keystone Opportunity Zone, a state Department of Community and Economic Development program. DCED says on its website that “by eliminating specific state and local taxes within specific underdeveloped and underutilized areas, communities within Pennsylvania are experiencing economic growth.”

“That’s been a great incentive to develop out that park,” MVA’s leader said. “KOZ has been major.”

Alta Vista is an integral initiative of MVA, specializing in renewal and revival in the Mid-Mon Valley, which has absorbed heavy losses in heavy industries over the past 40 years. The park has been a success.

However, it is not the only enterprise of an organization that was formed via the 2016 merger of the Mon Valley Progress Council and the Middle Monongahela Industrial Development Association. “Overall, we’re busy with community development initiatives,” said Colecchi, the MVA’s CEO since May 2022.

The alliance strives to foster positive change with programs such as the Charleroi Neighborhood Partnership Program, a six-year plan to draw $1.5 million to the borough for community improvement projects and social services. The program, administered by the DCED, was the first instituted in the mid-Mon Valley. The NPP was announced in late December 2022, making it a viable Christmas gift. The Charleroi program evolved through a partnership of the MVA, the Greater Charleroi Community Development Corp. and several nonprofits and business partners.

“Charleroi presents great opportunities,” Colecchi said. “Local leaders are business-minded and are positioning themselves where opportunities lie.” He is further excited by the partnership program because the borough’s 2020 population was 3% higher than in 2010, fueled partly by an influx of immigrants.

“It was the only community that has grown in the mid-Mon Valley,” he said. “That is the reverse of a trend, which everyone is after. This increases the tax base, increases home ownership.”

The Second and McKean Development, also in Charleroi, is another key project. MVA plans to build a 6,300-square-foot office building in the downtown area at McKean Avenue and 2nd Street, with off-street parking. A spring opening is planned for where the Atlas and Bill’s Feed buildings once stood.

And as if Colecchi’s office were not active enough, MVA also oversees two other business complexes nearby: Donora Industrial Park and Speers Industrial Park.

“We do have a lot going on,” the alliance’s CEO said, laughing.